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Jaipur’s wastewater conundrum

A report by NIUA brings to light the chinks in Jaipur's sewage system and suggests some solutions.

Posted on 21 Nov, 2019 12:29 PM

A major area of concern currently for India is the proper disposal of wastewater in urban areas. The huge increase in supply of potable water to cater to the needs of modern urban households has correspondingly increased the quantum of wastewater.

Routine check done by the sewage treatment plant staff in Delawas, Jaipur. The plant is part of the ADB best practices projects list. (Image: Asian Development Bank, Flickr Commons)

When the sewers get blocked: sanitation labour in urban India

On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on.

CS Sharada Prasad and Isha Ray

Posted on 15 Nov, 2019 12:07 PM

Unregulated e-waste hotspots operating in Delhi with no safeguards

Study identifies 5,000 illegal e-waste units in Delhi operating without health and environmental safeguards.

Amita Bhaduri

Posted on 28 Oct, 2019 02:11 PM

A study by Toxics Link, a Delhi-based environmental research and advocacy non-profit identified 15 e-waste processing hotspots in Delhi operating with impunity without safeguards. These hotspots house over 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units directly and indirectly employing over 50,000 people.

Most of the operations in these units were found to be manual and rudimentary (Image: Toxics Link)

Mapping Pune’s aquifers

Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.

Himanshu Kulkarni

Manoj Bhagwat

Posted on 25 Oct, 2019 01:13 PM

Pune continues to face a water crisis every summer despite having sufficient water, thanks to its geographical location and plentiful natural water assets. While enough of its water needs are taken care of by water supply from the Khadakwasla dam, the use of groundwater to meet the needs of the population continues to increase.

Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Deadly chemicals from detergents end up in rivers

India needs to come up with a regulation on use of toxic chemicals in detergents.

Amita Bhaduri

Posted on 06 Oct, 2019 10:18 AM

It’s ironic that detergents, which are meant for cleaning, flow into water bodies and pollute them with chemicals.

Nonylphenol, a toxic chemical found in detergents is known to enter the water bodies and even the food chain, where it bio-accumulates and can pose serious environmental and health risks (Image: Toxics Link)

From droughts to floods: India’s tryst with climate extremes

Deconstructing the traditional narrow engineering based policy discourses around floods and droughts and connecting them to social and cultural realities is the need of the hour in India.

Aarti Kelkar Khambete

Posted on 01 Oct, 2019 11:54 AM

India has witnessed extreme weather conditions this year. While parts of the north and south have battled drought like conditions this summer, the northeast and western coastal areas witnessed heavy rains and floods.

Water talk Series at Mumbai (Image Source:Tata Insitute of Social Sciences)

The Water Future Conference in Bangalore: Towards a Sustainable Water Future

The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.

Priya Desai

Posted on 30 Sep, 2019 12:38 PM

The Water Future Conference in Bangalore last week, saw many from the scientific community, academia, research, civil society and the media come together to discuss the state of water resources across the world and in India, as well as future pathways and scenarios, and different technological a

Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.

Stop farming on Yamuna floodplains by 2020: NGT to DDA

Policy matters this week

Swati Bansal

Posted on 17 Sep, 2019 05:26 PM

NGT orders DDA to ensure farming on the Yamuna floodplains is stopped by 2020

Yamuna river in Delhi (Source: Sudhanshu Malhotra via IWP Flickr Photos)

Indore leads the way in making its lakes pollution-free

Floating 'islands' give new lease of life to a lake in Indore

Clean Water

Posted on 16 Sep, 2019 01:19 PM

Choked by sewage and effluent discharge, lakes in and around Indore are in a terrible state and in need of restoration. A bustling city in central India, Indore was declared the cleanest city in India three years in a row.

An attempt to make our lakes pollution free (Image: Clean Water)

Water in Pune’s urban quagmire

A study develops a peri-urban and rurban water and sanitation index for Pune.

Rebecca Hui

James L Wescoat Jr.

Posted on 02 Sep, 2019 12:01 PM

Drinking water programs in India treat urban and rural areas separately, generally neglecting the special characteristics of settlements referred to as peri-urban – those on the outskirts or peripheries of urban areas, or “rurban” settlements i.e. rural areas with urban facilities.

A street in the city of Poonah [Pune] in 1871 (Image: Lester John Frederick, Wikimedia Commons)

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May 2, 2024

मध्यप्रदेश: लोगों की पहुंच से दूर क्यों हो रहा जल, कैसे होगा जल संकट हल

देश का हदय प्रदेश कहा जाने वाला मध्यप्रदेश जल संकट से जूझ रहा है। प्रदेश में बुन्देलखंड क्षेत्र की पहचान अब सूखे के रूप में हो रही है। बुन्देलखंड का अहम हिस्सा सागर जिला पहाड़ी इलाके के रूप में विद्यमान है। सागर जिले में पानी का संकट बहुत तेजी से बढ़ रहा है। सागर के आस-पास के ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों की नदियां, कुएं और तालाब सूखते जा रहे हैं। जिससे जिले के कई गाँव में पानी की समस्या गंभीर रूप से मंडरा रही है।

चांदबर गांव में पानी का इंतजार करती महिलाएं और बच्चे

May 2, 2024

धरती धधक रही है

चर्चा है कि मानवीय गतिविधियों द्वारा फिलहाल तो पर्यावरण के लिए भयानक संकट पैदा हो गया है। प्रकृति बार-बार विभिन्न तरीके से चेतावनी दे रही है, फिर भी लोग अनसुना कर रहे हैं। करीब करीब दो दशक पहले तक देश के ज्यादातर राज्यों में अप्रैल माह में अधिकतम तापमान औसतन 32-33 डिग्री रहता था अब वह 40 के पार प्राय: रहता है।

May 1, 2024

पहाड़ों में वनाग्नि और बढ़ती चुनौतियां

जंगलों में लगने वाली आग से उस क्षेत्र की जैव विविधता जिसमें असंख्य पेड़-पौधों और छोटे -बड़े वन्य जीवों की दुनिया बसी हुई रहती है उस पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव पड़ता है। तमाम वनस्पति व जीव-जन्तु, पक्षी, कीड़े-मकोड़े आग की विभीषिका में जलकर नष्ट हो जाते हैं। कई छोटी वनस्पतियां जो पानी को जमीन के अन्दर ले जाने में मददगार साबित होती हैं वह आग से जल जाती हैं। फलतः जमीन के पूरी तरह शुष्क हो जाने पर जहां भू-कटाव का खतरा बढ़ जाता है वहीं जमीन की जलधारण क्षमता घट जाने से आसपास के जलस्रोतों में पानी की मात्रा भी कम होने लगती है अथवा वे सूखने के कगार पर पहुंच जाते हैं।

May 1, 2024

भाजपा-कांग्रेस दोनों दलों के घोषणा पत्रों में बस इतना सा है पर्यावरण

पर्यावरण का मुद्दा पिछले दशकों में काफी चर्चा में रहा है। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग की बात हो या पीने के पानी की समस्या या फिर गिरता भू-जल स्तर, सभी चिंता के विषय हैं। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग से बढ़ती गर्मी ने प्रथम चरण के औसतन मतदान को भी प्रभावित किया है। भाजपा का 'पर्यावरण अनुकूल' बनाम कांग्रेस का 'पर्यावरण न्याय' है, पर दोनों केवल नारों जैसे ही लगते हैं। फिलहाल धरती के खतरे के प्रति लापरवाही ही दिखती है। The issue of environment has been much discussed in the last decades. Be it global warming or the problem of drinking water or falling ground water level, all are matters of concern. The increasing heat due to global warming has also affected the average voting in the first phase. There is BJP's 'Environment Friendly' versus Congress's 'Environment Justice', but both seem just like slogans. At present, there seems to be indifference towards the danger to the earth.